Bitcoin isn't a viable payment system, according to cryptocurrency exchange FTX's founder, who condemned Bitcoin's inefficiency as well as its high environmental impact.
"The Bitcoin network is not a payments network and it is not a scaling network," FTX founder and chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried said, in a FT report.
The price of bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, dropped to its lowest level since December 2020 last week after TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin, collapsed
Bitcoin is created by a process called "proof of work" in which computers solve complex puzzles to "mine" the currency, in a process that requires large amounts of power.
READ: Bitcoin energy use could be slashed 99% if coding changed
Alternatively, a "proof of stake" (POS) network can be used, in which participants purchase tokens that allow them to join the network, and all those who possess more tokens will be able to mine more coins.
Bankman-Fried said that POS networks will be needed in order to develop crypto as a payments network, since they are less power-hungry and cheaper.
Ethereum, the blockchain hosting ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency, has been working to move to this energy-intensive network.
A February funding round valued Bankman-Fried's co-funded FTX at US$32bn, while Forbes estimates Bankman-Fried himself is worth US$21bn.